Contents


Collection Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Organization of the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive

Selected Search Terms

Container List

Writings by Serge Grigoriev

Photographs

Photograph Albums

Programs

Writings about the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

Ballets Russes: Company members; Clippings; Tour Information; Drawings

Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive

Processed by the Music Division of the Library of Congress

2007

Collection Summary

Creator Grigoriev, S. L. (Sergeĭ Leonidovich), 1883-1968
Title Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive
Span Dates 1909-2009(bulk 1909-1952)
Abstract: The Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive documents Grigoriev’s decades-long career as régisseur (rehearsal director) for both Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and for Col. W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. It consists primarily of photographs, photograph albums, and notes and manuscript drafts for Grigoriev’s book S.P. Diaghilev i ego ‘Russkii Balet’ 1909-1929, which was translated into English and published as The Diaghilev Ballet, 1909-1929. The archive also contains Grigoriev’s unpublished manuscript for his work Original’nyi Russkii Balet pod upravleniem Colonel W. De Basil 1932-1952. In addition, the archive includes choreographic notes, programs, additional writings by Grigoriev, clippings, tour information, and drawings.
Extent: 1021 items24 containers18 linear feet
Language: Archive material in English and Russian
Identification: ML31.G75

Biographical Note

The Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (also known as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) was a creation of the great Russian impresario, Serge Diaghilev. In 1907 Diaghilev presented a festival of Russian music at the Paris Opera and, in 1908, he returned to offer six performances of Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov, which marked the first performance of the opera outside Russia. Upon his re-engagement in 1909, Diaghilev added four ballets to his operatic presentations. The enormous popularity of the ballets was such that in 1910 Diaghilev offered only “Ballets Russes.” Because many of the Russian dancers performing with Diaghilev were members of the Maryinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg, they were allowed to travel only when their season was over and Diaghilev soon realized the importance of creating a permanent dance company in the West.

From 1909 to 1912, the Russian choreographer Michel Fokine’s works dominated the repertory of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, but Fokine’s resignation allowed Diaghilev to re-conceptualize the company and to commission works that fulfilled his personal aesthetic. Vaslav Nijinsky was anointed as the choreographer who would open the door to Diaghilev’s principles of modernism in ballet. Thereafter, the succession of choreographers that continued Diaghilev’s ideals included Léonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balanchine.

Between 1918 and 1922, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes performed for long periods of time in London; however, by the mid-1920s, the company split its time between Paris and Monte Carlo. In Monte Carlo, Diaghilev enjoyed the support of the ruling Grimaldi family and was also providing dancers and choreographers for most of the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo’s operatic productions.

One of Diaghilev’s most significant legacies was his collaboration with other artists. For example, he commissioned scores from Debussy, Ravel, Richard Strauss, Satie, Poulenc, and Prokofiev, and is credited with establishing Stravinsky’s international career. Diaghilev also worked closely with the numerous painters and sculptors who created designs for his company, including Bakst, Benois, Matisse, Picasso, Rouault, Gris, Braque, Utrillo, and Miró. However, perhaps his greatest contribution to the world of ballet was his support of the choreographers Nijinsky, Massine, Nijinska, and Balanchine. Likewise, he launched the careers of many dancers, including names such as Adolph Bolm, Léonide Massine, Lydia Lopokova, Olga Spessivtseva, Anton Dolin, Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova, and Serge Lifar.

Throughout its existence, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes set new standards for ballet technique and played an important role in creating a significant body of choreographic works—many of which continue to be performed in the repertories of ballet companies throughout the world.

After Serge Diaghilev’s death in 1929, René Blum was appointed director of ballet at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo. Blum was determined to establish a new Russian ballet company at the Théâtre and, in 1931 he met Colonel Wassily de Basil. De Basil had emigrated to Paris in 1919 and was the director of L’Opéra Russe à Paris. In late 1931, de Basil and Blum created Les Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo with George Balanchine as ballet master and Boris Kochno as artistic director. The company’s first season opened at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo in 1932 and, at the end of the year, Balanchine left and was replaced by Léonide Massine. Massine remained with the company until 1937. After a disagreement with Blum in 1934, de Basil became the sole director and the company became known as the Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil (later called the Original Ballet Russe).

When de Basil died in 1951, his associate George Kirsta organized a new company that opened four months later at the Wimbledon Theatre, England. Despite some local touring, the company performed for the last time in January 1952. Known variously throughout the years as the Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil (1932-1938), Colonel W. de Basil’s Ballet Russe (1937, in New York), Educational Ballets Limited (1938), Covent Garden Russian Ballet (1938-1940), and the Original Ballet Russe (1940-1952), the company crisscrossed the globe and was instrumental in the popularization of ballet worldwide.

Serge Grigoriev studied ballet at the Imperial Theatre School in Saint Petersburg and, in 1909, Diaghilev appointed him as company régisseur (rehearsal director) for the first Paris season of his Ballets Russes. Grigoriev remained in this position until Diaghliev’s death in 1929. Upon the formation of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, Grigoriev served once again as régisseur, remaining with the company until its dissolution in 1952. During the 1950s, along with his wife, dancer Lubov Tchernicheva, he staged revivals of Fokine ballets for Sadler’s Wells Ballet (later known as the Royal Ballet), the London Festival Ballet, and La Scala, and oversaw rehearsals for Massine ballets. Grigoriev died on 28 June 1968.

Date Event
1883 Serge Grigoriev (Sergei Leonidovich Grigor’ev) is born 5 October in Tichvin, Russia.
1900 Grigoriev enters the Maryinsky corps de ballet, where he remains until 1912.
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915 Le Soleil de Nuit (music by Rimsky-Korsakov) is premiered with Massine acting as both choreographer and principal dancer.
1916 Ballets Russes makes their first tour of the United States, returning again for a second tour, 1916-1917.
1917 Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes premieres Massine’s Parade (music by Satie).
1919 Grigoriev plays the character role of the Russian Merchant in Léonide Massine’s La Boutique fantasque (music by Rossini, orchestrated by Respighi) for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, London.
1921
1922
1923 Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes premieres Nijinska’s Les Noces (music by Stravinsky).
1924
1928 Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes premieres George Balanchine’s Apollon musagète (music by Stravinsky).
1929
1932 Grigoriev joins Colonel Wassily de Basil’s Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo as company régisseur.
1933
1934 The company begins a North American Tour in October in Mexico City. The company also performs in Canada and California.
1935 The company performs at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
1936 Invited to Austrialia, de Basil forms a second company for a tour that lasts until July 1937.
1937 Massine’s contract is extended to cover part of the fall and winter American tour.
1938
1939
1941 The Original Ballet Russe arrives in Cuba. The dancers receive a cut in salary and seventeen of them stage a strike. The company eventually makes its way back to the United States.
1942 The company tours Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. By 1943 the company is in residence at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. In addition, the company tours other South American countries. The Original Ballet Russe remains in South America until 1946.
1947
1948
1951 Colonel Wassily de Basil dies on 27 July.
1952
1953 Grigoriev publishes The Diaghilev Ballet 1909-1929.
1954-1955 Grigoriev and his wife stage Fokine’s The Firebird and Les Sylphides for Britain’s Royal Ballet.
1956 Grigoriev serves one year as régisseur for London’s Royal Ballet.
1957 Grigoriev and his wife, Lubov Tcherinova, stage Petrouchka for the Royal Ballet.
1968 Serge Grigoriev dies in London on 28 June.

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Scope and Content Note

The Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive is comprised of materials that document Serge Grigoriev’s career as a dancer and as régisseur (rehearsal director) for the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (1909-1929). Grigoriev served in the same capacity for the Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil (1932-1952). The manuscripts, photographs, and other documents that are included in this Archive provide one of the richest collections of information on these two dance companies available anywhere.

Although the majority of the materials in the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive relate to the companies of Diaghilev and de Basil, the Archive contains several items from another Russian ballet company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. By 1937 differences between Massine and de Basil led to the formation of a company for Massine with backers that included Sergei J. Denham, who eventually became the general director. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo existed from 1938 to 1962.

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Selected Search Terms

People

  • Balanchine, George--Photographs.
  • Basil, W. de.
  • Basil, W. de.--Photographs.
  • Danilova, Alexandra, 1907-1997--Photographs.
  • Diaghilev, Serge, 1872-1929--Photographs.
  • Diaghilev, Serge, 1872-1929.
  • Doubrovska, Felia, 1896-1981--Photographs.
  • Grigorieva, Tamara--Photographs.
  • Grigorʹev, S. L. (Sergeĭ Leonidovich), 1883-1968--Photographs.
  • Grigorʹev, S. L. (Sergeĭ Leonidovich), 1883-1968.
  • Grigorʹev, S. L. (Sergeĭ Leonidovich), 1883-1968.
  • Grigorʹev, S. L. (Sergeĭ Leonidovich), 1883-1968. Diaghilev ballet, 1909-1929.
  • Jasinski, Roman, 1912-1991--Photographs.
  • Lichine, David--Photographs.
  • Lifar, Serge, 1905-1986--Photographs.
  • MacKenzie, Kenneth, d. 1999--Photographs.
  • Massine, Leonide, 1896-1979.
  • Morosova, Olga--Photographs.
  • Nemchinova, Vera--Photographs.
  • Nijinska, Bronislava, 1891-1972--Photographs.
  • Nijinsky, Waslaw, 1890-1950--Photographs.
  • Petroff, Paul--Photographs.
  • Riabouchinska, Tatiana--Photographs.
  • Rostov, Dmitri--Photographs.
  • Tchernicheva, Lubov--Photographs.
  • Toumanova, Tamara, 1917- --Photographs.
  • Verchinina, Nina--Photographs.

Organizations

  • Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
  • Ballets russes du Col. W. de Basil--Photographs.
  • Ballets russes du Col. W. de Basil.
  • Ballets russes--Photographs.
  • Ballets russes.
  • Ballets russes. Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes archive. 1909-2009.

Subjects

  • Ballet companies--Russia--Photographs.
  • Ballet companies--Russia.
  • Ballet dancers--Photographs.
  • Ballet dancers.
  • Ballet--Russia.
  • Ballet--Stage-setting and scenery.

Form/Genre

  • Photographic prints.
  • Programs.
  • Souvenir programs.

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Organization of the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive

The Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive is organized into six series:

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Container List

Writings by Serge Grigoriev

The core of the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive is the collection of manuscript drafts for his work The Diaghilev Ballet 1909-1929 (translated into English by Vera Bowen and published in 1953) and an unpublished manuscript titled Original’nyi Russkii Balet 1932-1952 (also called Original’nyi Russkii Balet pod upravleniem Colonel W. De Basil 1932-1952 [The Original Ballet Russe under the management of Colonel W. De Basil 1932-1952]). Other notebooks contain descriptions and cast lists for choreographic works performed by the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (also known as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) and Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo (also known as the Original Ballet Russe).

Manuscript draft of S.P. Diaghilev i ego ‘Russkii Balet’ 1909-1929 [The Diaghilev Ballet 1909-1929]

Five notebooks, in Russian, occasional corrections in pencil; dated London, 24 April 1952

Two notebooks, containing details of the choreographies for many ballets for both the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes de Col. W. De Basil, c.1926-1936

Manuscript draft of Original’nyi Russkii Balet pod upravleniem Colonel W. De Basil 1932-1952[The Original Ballet Russe under the management of Colonel W. De Basil 1932-1952]

Manuscript copy of Original’nyi Russkii Balet 1932-1952, in Russian, with a 35-page typed appendix in English of ballets performed by the company during those dates

Collection of loose working notes relating to Grigoriev’s manuscripts, comprising:

• An early manuscript draft from Russkovo Baleta S.P. Diaghileva, in Russian, covering ; dated 194815 November 1949

• Manuscript in Russian, titled Kratkaia Biographia S.P. Diaghilev i ego deyatelnosti 1872-1929[A Short biography of Diaghilev and his Works]

• Manuscript and typed lists of dancers, artists, composers, and others involved in the company’s productions; manuscript lists of Diaghilev’s productions; a manuscript account of Diaghilev’s relations with his artistic collaborators, including Derain, Larionov, Picasso, and Matisse

• Various other working notes, including choreographic diagrams, manuscript and typed notes relating to the Ballets Russes

Manuscript draft of Original’nyi Russkii Balet[The Original Ballet Russe 1932-1952], five notebooks in Russian; dated 2 September 1952 and 18 August 1960

Photographs

This series contains photographs of most of the principal artists associated with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo.

Personal Names

Algeranoff, Harcourt

Alonso, Alberto

Alonso, Alberto and Denisova, Alexandra

Amsermet, Ernest; Tchernicheva, Lubov; Lifar, Serge; Nikitina, Alice; and Doubrovska, Felia

Balanchine, George; Tchernicheva, Lubov; and Doubrovska, Felia

Balanchine, George; Tchernicheva, Lubov; Doubrovska, Felia; and Lifar, Serge

Baronova, Irina

Baronova, Irina and Petroff, Paul

Baronova, Irina and Lichine, David

Borovansky, Edouard; Rostov, Dmitri; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Bousloff, Serge and Grigorieva, Tamara

Conus, Natalie

Danilova, Alexandra

Danilova, Alexandra and Petroff, Paul

Danilova, Alexandra; Tchernicheva, Lubov; Grigoriev, Serge; and Doubrovska, Felia

de Basil, Col. W.

de Basil, Col. W. (with others)

Denisova, Alexandra (Patricia Denise Meyers; also known as Patricia Meyers and as Patricia Denise)

Denisova, Alexandra and Osato, Sono

Diaghilev, Serge and Kochno, Boris

Diaghilev, Serge; Kochno, Boris; and Picasso’s children

Dokoudovsky, Vladimir

Doroudovsky, M.

Doubrovska, Felia; George Balanchine; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Doubrovska, Felia; Tchernicheva, Lubov; Grigoriev, Serge; and Danilova, Alexandra

Doubrovska, Felia; Tcherkas, Constantin; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Federov, Michel and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Geltser, Ekaterina

Gilpin, John (?) and Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Grigoriev, Serge

Grigoriev, Serge and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Grigoriev, Serge (with others)

Grigoriev, Serge with de Basil, Col W.

Grigoriev, Serge; Tchernicheva, Lubov; Danilova, Alexandra; and Doubrovska, Felia

Grigorieva, Tamara

Grigorieva, Tamara and Bousloff, Serge

Grigorieva, Tamara and Lichine, David

Grigorieva, Tamara; Lichine, David; Toumanova, Tamar; and Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Grigorieva, Tamara and Massine, Léonide

Grigorieva, Tamara and Morosova, Olga

Grigorieva, Tamara; Nelidova, Vera; and Tchinarova, Tamara

Grigorieva, Tamara and Petroff, Paul

Grigorieva, Tamara and Stogonova, Nina

Greigorieva, Tamara and other(s)

Hyman, Prudence (also known as Strogova, Pauline)

Jasinski, Roman

Jasinski, Roman and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Jasinski, Roman; Tchernicheva, Lubov; and Mackenzie, Kenneth

Karsavina, Tamara

Karlewska, Jadwiga

Kochno, Boris and Diaghilev, Serge

Kochno, Boris; Diaghilev, Serge; and Picasso’s children

Kshessinska, Matilda

Kyasht, Lydia

Lazowski, Yurek

Lazowski, Yurek with others

Leskova, Tatiana

Lichine, David

Lichine, David and Baronova, Irina

Lichine, David and Grigorieva, Tamara

Lichine, David; Grigorieva, Tamara; Toumanova, Tamar; and Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Lichine, David and Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Lichine, David and others

Lifar, Serge

Lifar, Serge; Tchernicheva, Lubov; Nikitina, Alice; and Doubrovska, Felia

Lifar, Serge; Ansermet, Ernest; Nikitina, Alice; Doubrovska, Felia; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Lloyd, Barbara

Mackenzie, Kenneth

Mackenzie, Kenneth and other

Mackenzie, Kenneth and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Mackenzie, Kenneth; Jasinski, Roman; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Marra, Eleanora

Massine, Léonide

Massine, Léonide and Grigorieva, Tamara

Massine, Léonide and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Massine, Léonide; Nemchinova, Vera; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Mordkin, Mikhail

Morosova, Olga

Morosova, Olga and Grigorieva, Tamara

Morosova, Olga; Zorina, Vera; and Strogova, Pauline

Morosova, Olga and others

Nelidova, Vera [Cuff, Betty]

Nelidova, Vera; Grigorieva, Tamara; Tchinarova, Tamara

Nemchinova, Vera

Nemchinova, Vera and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Nemchinova, Vera; Massine, Léonide; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Nijinska, Bronislava

Nijinsky, Vaslav

Nijinsky, Vaslav (with his family)

Nikitina, Alice

Nikitina, Alice; Tchernicheva, Lubov; Doubrovska, Felia; and Lifar, Serge

Osato, Sono

Panaiev, Michel

Petroff, Paul

Petroff, Paul and Baronova, Irina

Petroff, Paul and Danilova, Alexandra

Petroff, Paul and Grigorieva, Tamara

Petroff, Paul and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Petroff, Paul; Tchernicheva, Lubov; and Rostov, Dmitri

Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Riabouchinska, Tatiana and Gilpin, John (?)

Riabouchinska, Tatiana and Lichine, David

Riabouchinska, Tatiana and Toumanova, Tamara

Riabouchinska, Tatiana; Toumanova, Tamara; and Verchinina, Nina

Riabouchinska, Tatiana; Toumanova, Tamara; Lichine, David; and Grigorieva, Tamara

Rostov, Dmitri

Rostov, Dmitri and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Rostov, Dmitri; Tchernicheva, Lubov; and Petroff, Paul

Rostov, Dmitri; Tchernicheva, Lubov; and Borovansky, Edouard

Rostova, Lubov and others

Sand, Inge

Schwezoff, Igor

Siniavine, Alec

Skibine, George

Skibine, George and others

Slavenska, Mia; Grigoriev, Serge and Vladimir; and Tchernicheva; Lubov

Stepanova,Tatiana

Stogonova, Nina and Grigorieva, Tamara

Tcherkas, Constantin; Doubrovska, Felia; and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Tchernicheva, Lubov

Tchernicheva, Lubov (head shots)

Tchernicheva, Lubov (with others)

Tchernicheva, Lubov; Ansermet, Ernest; Doubrovska, Felia; Lifar, Serge; and Nikitina, Alice

Tchernicheva, Lubov; Balanchine, George; and Doubrovska, Felia

Tchernicheva, Lubov; Danilova, Alexandra; Grigoriev; and Doubrovska, Felia

Tchernicheva, Lubov and Nemchinova, Vera

Tchernicheva, Lubov; Nemchinova, Vera; and Massine, Léonide

Tchernicheva, Lubov and Grigoriev, Serge

Tchernicheva, Lubov and Massine, Léonide

Tchernicheva, Lubov and Petroff, Paul

Tchernicheva, Lubov and Jasinski, Roman

Tchernicheva, Lubov; Jasinski, Roman; and Mackenzie, Kenneth

Tchernicheva, Lubov; Nikitina, Alice; Doubrovska, Felia; and Lifar, Serge

Tchernicheva, Lubov and Mackenzie, Kennneth

Tchernicheva, Lubov and Rostov, Dmitri

Tchernicheva, Lubov (in various works)

Tchinarova, Tamara; Grigorieva; and Nelidova, Vera

Tchinarova, Tamara and others

Toumanova, Tamara

Toumanova, Tamara and Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Toumanova, Tamara; Riabouchinska, Tatiana; Lichine, David; and Grigorieva, Tamara

Toumanova, Tamara; Verchina, Nina; and Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Tupine, Oleg

Verchinina, Nina (Nina Verchinina de Beausacq)

Verchinina,Nina and Tchernicheva, Lubov

Verchinina, Nina; Toumanova, Tamara; and Riabouchinska, Tatiana

Volkova, Anna and others

Woizikowski, Leon [Leon Wójcikowski]

Zorina, Vera; Morosova, Olga; and Hyman, Prudence

Zorina, Vera and others

Zvereff, Nicholas

Unidentifed (non-dance)

Unidentified groups

Choreographic Works

L’ Après-midi d’un Faune

Aurora’s Wedding

Blue Danube

Les Biches

Cain and Abel

Carousal

Cendrillon

Les Cent Baisers

Le Chant du Rossigno

Choreartium

Le Coq d’Or

Danses Slaves et Tziganes

La Fille du Pharaon

The Firebird

Francesca da Rimini

The Good-Humored Ladies

Graduation Ball

Icare

Les Noces

Paganini

Les Papillons

Pavana

Petruchka

Les Présages

Pulcinella

Romeo and Juliet

Shéhérazade

Le Soleil de Nuit [later Midnight Sun]

Le Spectre de la Rose

Les Sylphides

Swan Lake

Symphonie Fantastique

Thamar

Le Tricorne

Unidentified Works

Photograph Albums

This series contains albums that span the dates 1916 to 1948 and include nearly 3,000 of Serge Grigoriev’s photographs of ballet dancers and colleagues in the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. Some are signed and many are unpublished. Included are photographs of George Balanchine, Irina Baronova, Alexandra Danilova, Colonel W. De Basil, Serge Diaghilev, Vladimir Dokoudovsky, Serge Gregoriev, Tamara Grigorieva, David Lichine, Serge Lifar, Léonide Massine, Vera Nemchinova, Bronislava Nijinska, Vaslav Nijinsky, Tatiana Riabouchinska, Tamara Toumanova, and Vera Zorina, just to name a few.

The albums also contain photographs of the company in locations around the world, including Monte-Carlo, Montreux, Roquebrune, Berlin, Edinburgh, London, Barcelona, Montserrat, Paris, Guadalajara, Santiago (Chile), Rio de Janeiro, Havana, New York, Lima, La Paz, Buenos Aires, Quito, Bogota, Caracas, Bombay, Melbourne, and Sydney as well as cities throughout Samoa, Ceylon, Central America, Aden, the United States, and New Zealand. Of particular interest is the scrapbook of passport or identification photographs that identify the dancers by their original names.

The albums are rich in performance photographs of works that include Francesca da Reminit, Schéhérazade, Thamar, The Firebird, Paganini, Cendrillon, Cain and Abel, Les Cent Baisers, Aurora’s Wedding, L’Après-midi d’un Faune, Les Présages, Choréartium, Petrouchka, Good Humoured Ladies, Danses Slaves, Blue Danube, Swan Lake, Pulcinella, Le Chant du Rossignol, Les Noces, Petrouchka, and include photographs of the costume and/or set designs for Zéphire et Flore, Renard, Les Biches, Les Fâcheux, and Barabau.

Family photographs, locations () 1916

Uncaptioned, undated photographs of locations, Grigoriev family () 1917

Monte-Carlo, Montreux, Berlin, Edinburgh, Paris, London, Barcelona, Montserrat, 1935 and 1936 tours of U.S. () 1918-1935

Uncaptioned, undated photographs of locations and of the Ballets Russes in performance () 1919-1920-1921

1935 and 1936-1937 tours of US; Barcelona performance photographs of Schérérazade, Les Cent Baisers, Aurora’s Wedding, L’Apres-midi d’un Faune, Les Présages, Chorertium, Good Humored Ladies, Firebird, Danses Slaves et Tziganes, Blue Danube, and Swan Lake. () 1935-1938

London, Paris, Italy, 1938 American tour; Ceylon, Australia, India, New Zealand, Aden () 1936-1940

Australia, London, Schérérazade and Francesca da Rimini; portraits of numerous dancers, including Toumanova, Riabouchinska, Verchinina, Nemchinova, Denisova, Lifar, Lichine, de Basil, Gregoriev, as well as performance shots of Paganini, Pavana, Graduation Ball, and Petruchcka () 1939-1940

Lubov Tchernicheva (and others) in Francesca da Rimini (1940 Australia tour) () 1939-1940

Performance shots of Lubov Tchernicheva in Francesca da Rimini, Thamar, Schérérazade, Paganini, Cendrillon, Cain and Abel. Photographs of other dancers include Paul Petroff, Roman Jasinski, Kenneth MacKenzie, Dmitri Rostov, David Lichine, and Edouard Borovansky. This album contains full company and performance shots in Buenos Aires (1944) () 1944-1946

Samoa, Havana, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, Equador, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Spain () 1940-1948

Album of undated, uncaptioned photographs () n.d.

Performance photographs and/or illustrations of set designs for Pulcinella, Le Chant du Rossignol, Les Noces, Zéphire et Flore, Mavra, Renard, Les Biches, Les Facheux, and Barabau () n.d.

Headshots of members of Ballets Russes (possibly passport or identification photos; 2 albums) () n.d.

Programs

This series contains programs and souvenir programs for Colonel W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes (also known as the Original Ballet Russe) and for Sergei J. Denham’s company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (1938-1962). For original souvenir programs for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes’s premiere performance of The Firebird (1910) and a 1924 performance at La Scala, see Box 226 in the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Collection.

Théatre de la Danse – La Nijinska, Ballets Russes ; Souvenir Program 1934

Col. W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes, ; Souvenir Program 1936-1937

Col. W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes, 1937

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, 1941

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, ; Program Supplement 1941

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, ; Souvenir Program 1943-1944

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, ; Souvenir Program for Song of Norway 1944

Original Ballet Russe, 1946

Original Ballet Russe, ; Souvenir Program 1946

Original Ballet Russe, ; Souvenir Program 1946-1947

Loose pages and covers from various souvenir programs

Writings about the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

This series contains publications about two of the famous Russian dance companies: the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev (known also as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, a company that was created for Léonide Massine upon his departure from Ballets Russes de Colonel W. De Basil. This company was led by Sergei J. Denham and existed from 1938 to 1962.

Advertising flyer, The Diaghilev Ballet, 1909-1929, by S.L. Grigoriev

Maynard, Olga. Petrouchka: Diaghilev’s 1911, Joffrey’s 1970, n.d.

Blanche, Jacques-Emile. Leon Bakst dans le Ballet Russe, (incomplete) n.d.

Anderson, Jack, Janet Light, and Malcolm McCormick. The Golden Age of Costume and Set Design for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, 1938-1944. Cincinnati Art Museum, 2002

Art et Danse, no. 4, Juin-Juillet 1959

Schaikevitch, Andre. "Le Destin du Ballet de L’Opera," in La Revue Musicale, pp. 278-279, 1971

Lifar, Serge. Undated, holograph document (two pages in ink); fragmentary discussion on Prokofiev and Le Fils Prodigue () and an assessment of choreographer Léonide Massine. [Photocopy of original, which can be found in ML95.L54 no. 1] 1929

Schouvaloff, Alexander. Serge Diaghilev: The Centenary Exhibition of Les Ballets Russes. The Daniel Katz Gallery, London, 2009

Jeschke, Claudia, ed. Schwane und Feuervögel: Die Ballets Russes 1909-1929, Munich, 2009

Exhibition brochures: Library of Congress (); New York Public Library for the Performing Arts () 20092009

Bloom, Julie. “Admiring the Man Who Made Ballet Modern,” in The New York Times, 23 August, 2009

Ballets Russes: Company members; Clippings; Tour Information; Drawings

This series contains miscellaneous materials relating to Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (1909-1929) and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo (also known as various other names including the Original Ballet Russe, 1932-1952).

Receipt acknowledging payment from Serge Diaghilev to Vaslav Nijinsky, 1917

Clippings

Tour Information

Notebook of drawings of members of the Ballets Russes by Grant MacDonald

Salary list, undated

Personal papers (Grigoriev)

Drawings and other images

Choreographic notes for Graduation Ball, choreographed by David Lichine in 1940

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